Finally some time to post!

Sorry for the delay in posting for those waiting! It has been a busy time with the babies! We also spent last weekend down at the Crane Wildlife Management Area for the VCCNE hunt test. I was apprentice judging the junior hunt test levels so I can officially begin to judge at hunt tests. The paperwork is all done, now I just need to wait for the official word that I am a judge!

We had a great time on the Cape, despite the rain. Kyler had to stay home with the babies since they are not vaccinated yet, it was just too risky to take her or them with us. We were able to work Cedar on some birds after the event, which was very helpful with some issues we have had with him lately. I think we made some progress.

The puppies are now almost 7 weeks old! I can't believe they will be leaving next weekend! I will miss them as they have come quite a part of daily life here. They are spending time daily outside in their ex-pen as well as being able to run around the house while we clean their box.

Here they are asleep in the corner of their box.Outside chewing on their first turkey neck, which is great for teething! The one missing the collar is the yellow girl, she, or someone else that is, keeps pulling it off and I find it on the floor in their box.Yellow girl digging in. The boys, learning how to share.Can't I just have a tiny bite?
Red in the house this morning. I was trying to get some nice pictures this morning, but they wouldn't leave me alone, so I had a difficult time.Hmm, check cord, tasty! This is the pink girl and the green boy (formerly light blue), he also managed to get his collar off. Luckily they are all old enough that I can tell the difference between them all even without their collars.Dark blue testing out his teeth on the check cord.Hopefully over the next few days I will be able to get some better pictures.

I am heading up to Sharpe's farm in Hopkington, NH both Saturday morning and Sunday morning to run Kyler in 2 SH tests. It is still slightly risky because the babies are still not vaccinated, but I am running first in the brace and will put her up in the truck as soon as we are done running. I plan to wipe her down with Chlorhexiderm after as an extra precaution for the babies. We'll see how things go, her honor still needs some work. She has yet to honor another dog other than a Vizsla...We are braced with a GSP tomorrow and a Brittany on Sunday. I am hopeful that working with our friends GSP tonight that we can lay the groundwork for that. Fingers crossed!

A great weekend

My weekends start early now that I have a set schedule at work. At least until further notice I currently work Tu/Wed/Thur from 7am to 7pm. That gives me a 4 day weekend every week! It may change in the near future, as the hospital I work for wants the surgeon to be there on Mondays instead of Wednesdays.

The puppies continue to grow and get cuter every day. They are starting to develop their own personalities now.

This is the red girl playing with Kyler, she, in particular likes to play with mom. This was the puppies first time being allowed to run free in the house to explore.

The light blue boy picked up one of Mike's socks and carried it around for about 5 minutes. I didn't want to take it away as he was enjoying carrying it and since he wasn't hurting anything I decided to let him carry it for a while.The first time being allowed outside their pen in the yard. The pink girl checking out the transport cages for quail.

She got it! The red girl was able to grab the wing while Jaida was dragging it around.This is what happened after I brought them back inside after the romp. Excuse the stain on the pee pad!

The love to tackle mom!The boys checking out the world outside of the box.Pink loves to play! She seems to be the bounciest of the group.

Puppy pile!Red girl watching the action.Red girl chewing on her first marrow bone.This is how we found the navy boy after romping with mom.

Kyler is a fantastic mom, I keep trying to tell her that she can wean them now...She doesn't nurse them often, but still does a few times a day. It can't go on much longer, their teeth are sharp! (Note: Their collars changed again...They outgrew the medium size ones. The only real change is that light blue boy is now neon green, and the yellow girl, who was originally white, is more of a neon yellow)Jaida holding the big boy.We also took Cedar and Kyler for a hike on Saturday to Laughton's tree farm. Which, incidently, is not really a tree farm anymore, it is owned by the state. Mike had done some work there a few years ago cutting trees to create habitat friendlier to grouse, which are not very common in Massachusetts. Just as we came to a corner where we turned down this road, the dogs put up a small covey of 3 grouse! They were ecstatic after that and hunted hard for a good 1/2 hour realizing that there may be more birds there. We didn't find any, but it was a nice experience for all, as you just don't see grouse all that often where we are.This is one of the roads leading to our house. On the way back from our hike we ran into these guys, a flock of about 30 turkeys. Strangely, we took this picture right after running into about 10 turkeys justs a few hundred feet behind us.
Jaida had fun on Friday after school with finger paint!Then, Sunday, we visited the Franklin County Fair, where Jaida likes to sit on the tractors. Note that she is wearing appropriate clothing for the particular brand of tractor she is "driving".Of course, it wouldn't be a complete fair with out petting a calf! She also had a great time on a roller coaster and a mini pirate ship ride! I was quite suprised at how much fun she had on the "scary" rides!

And more babies...

The puppies are loving being outside! They run around chasing each other and pouncing on the grass, then after 5-10 minutes, crash hard. They sleep for 1/2 hour, and they are ready to go again. The whelping box has now grown to a weaning pen. It is basically the Taj Mahal of sleeping quarters. All we did was add 2 more walls to make it twice the size, and what a difference it makes! The puppies now are able to have their sleep area and their potty area be seperate. They seem to be figuring it all out pretty quickly. In on corner they have a crate to sleep in, as well as their food and water dishes. At the other end they have their washable pee-pads to make life easier for me to clean up. Here is Cedar checking out the new digs. Kyler at least lets him look in now without threatening to bite him!

They are just starting to show some interest in the pheasant wing. They don't seem to always see it yet, but they are starting to carry it around and try to chase it a bit. The next few weeks should be interesting to see their reactions.

Andrew, from The Regal Vizsla, came up for a day of training in Bernardston on Sunday. We had a fairly successful time, after Mike and I were finally able to find out where each one had gone and meet up for the training. Cedar has had some issues lately where he is lunging at the bird when it flushes. I think this stems from too many poorly flying birds and him realizing that he can just catch them out of the air. We spent his time with a collar and check cord on to try and get him back to where he used to be. His previous problems had just been with honoring, so we are trying to work on that as well as his newly developed bad habit!

For Kyler, I really wanted to get some honoring out of her, as that is the main thing stopping her from completing her SH title. I am hoping, after the puppies are weaned, to finish it before the year is up.

Andrew got to meet the puppies for the first time, and they certainly received him well! The navy blue boy thought Andrew was there just so he could lick him and chew on his ear. He is the sweetest boy (the puppy that is, Andrew is nice too, though) ;-)

As fall is fast approaching, we are trying to get the dogs back into shape after a summer off. Bird season is only about 6 weeks away, so the dogs need to be in top shape to be able to hunt effectively. We took the dogs for an hour hike in The Women's Federated Forest in Petersham. We spent most of the time going along the powerlines, as that is where all the blackberries were that Jaida loves to eat. The dog have come quite adept at finding their own trail snacks and pick their own berries whenever they feel the need. Kyler seems to enjoy her time away from the puppies, and she is slowly weaning them on her own. We usually use a skid plate to cover her underside, since it is a bit more sensitive than usual, but after using it yesterday it rubbed her raw in a couple of spots and we decided not to use it. Happy Trails! On the way home at last!

A day of firsts!

Babies are getting big! There whelping bix will turn into a weaning pen this weekend. All it really means is the addition of 2 walls, basically most of our kitchen! They will be 4 weeks old on Sunday. It has gone by very quickly, I can't believe that they will be ready to go in another 4 weeks! This morning the light blue guy put his feet up on the doorway to the box, they hadn't been able to do that yet.

On Friday morning they had their first "real" meal. They seemed to enjoy it and didn't have any problems eating. As soon as I put the food down they all went to it and started eating. I think because I waited until they are closer to 4 weeks to feed them they take to it a little easier than if I had offered it to them a week before.

Then, they slept! Then, since it was a nice day yesterday, they also went outside for the first time! We have 2 ex-pens that we put together and make a nice size yard for them.

Then, after playing outside, they all crashed in the crate I put outside for them. This is the beginning of crate training.

Their mom took a nap while they were away.

And, lastly, Wonka enjoyed some sunshine, and continually tried to escape from the flower box! There is a brace in the lower left corner of the picture. She was actually standing on her hind legs at one point trying to pull herself up onto it so she could get out! It is probably 7 inches high! Russian tortoises are known for their climbing ability, so I watch her closely when she is outdoors. Someday soon hopefully I will be able to make her a real outdoor enclosure that is secure enough that I can leave her out for the day even when I am not here.